Machine for cutting material into strips for the manufacture of piston-packing.



Pgtented lari. 2|, |902.

H. DDDS.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING NIATERIAlL INTO STRIPS FOR THE MANUFAGTUHE 0F PI'STUIN PACKING. (Application med .my 2.1, 1897.)

2 Shea-{s -Sheet l.

(No Model.)

THE N'nmus PETERS cn Pworoumo.. wAsmNcoN. D. c.

Patented Jan. 2|, |902.

N0..s9| e|2. y l

H. nous. y MACHINE FCR CUTTING MATERIAL INTO STRIPS FOR THE MANUFACTURE 0F n PISTON PACKING.

(Application led July 21, 1897.)

(No Model.)

uma, wAsHmm'oN o c UNITED STATES PATENT (NEIGE.V

HENRY DODS, OF VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA.

' MACHINE TOR CUTTING MATERIAL INTO STRIPS FOR THE MANUFACTURE-OF PISTON-PACKING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N o. 691,612, dated January 21, 1902.

Appncauon fumi July 21, 1897. serai 110.645,460. moineau.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRYDODS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Virginia City, Storey county, State ofvNevada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for 'Cutting Material into Strips for the Manufacture of-Piston-Packing, of which 'the following is a-specification- This invention relates to machines for cutting from a block or cake of material strips of definite breadth and thickness with parallel faces for the manufacture of piston-packin g, and the said invention consists in certain novel parts andcombin'ation of parts producing an improved cutting-.machine'fand one that is particularly adapted to cut strips of uniform breadthand thickness and of any desired dimensions from a solid block or cake of material, as hereinafter fullyA explained, and pointed ont in the claim lat the end of this specification.

The essential or material points and features of myimproved cutting-machine comprise a bed or table tosupport the work, mechanism for feeding or advancing said table toward and past a cutting-blade, a' clamp for coniining on the table the block or cake of material tobe cut into strips, an adjustable stationary gage for regulating` the width or thickness of the strip to be cut from the material on the bed, and a guide for carrying the cut strips away from the cutting-blade as it is severed from the block of material.

In one form of my improvedV machine a traveling bed or table is supported and arranged to travel in a slanting position with a downward inclination with respect to the cutting-blade, which runs vertically withA a continuous rectilinear motion, whereby the blocklis so presented and fed to the cutter that the strips are cut diagonally or on slanting lines with respect to the top and bottom faces of the block. In another form of the machine the bed or table is set horizontally, so that the material is presented to and out by the bladey on vertical lines. The same parts enter into the construction of both machines, however, and are similarly arranged for operation. d v p The nature of the said improvement and the manner in which the same is constructed and combined for operation are fully eX- i plained in the following description, in which reference is had to the drawings that accompany andform part 'ofthis specification.

In the said drawings, Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, illustrate that form of the machine in which the table Iis set at an angle with relation to the c`utter, Fig. l being an end elevation, Fig. 2a front elevation of one-half of the machine, and Fig. .3 a plan or top view of the slantiug guide at the left-hand end of the machine. Figs-'4,I 5, and 6 illustrate the form of the machine in which the bed is horizontal, Fig. 4 showing an elevation of the machine taken from the front end, Fig. plan or top view of the front end with the opposite end broken away, Fig. 6 a side elevation taken from the left-hand side of Fig. 4, and Fig. 7 a perspective view of the packing-strip.

A'indicates the traveling table or, bed, on which the material to be cut into strips is clamped. This table is mounted on'gr'ooved Ways a aXto slide smoothly and is moved along by a rack b, fixed to the under side of the table, anda pinion c on a shaft d. A pulley d on the shaft CZ takesa belt from some convenient driver, such asa pulley on a line of shafting above,or from the drivinggear of the cutter employed.

`B B Vindicate hinged Vclamping-armsat-l tached to the `rear end ofthe table` and ar-v ranged to b'e turned down upon the block of material when the same'is placed on the ta-Y ble. has been cut in order to release the block of vmaterial and allowit to be moved forward to the line of the cutting-blade the desired distance for the next out, and aftersuch adjustment of the block the clamps are brought down again to hold the block during the cutting operation.

E indicates an adjustable gage supported by a stationary frame or bench X' along the front edge of the traveling table and capable of adjustment mechanically toward and away from the vertical blade W works.

The form or style of cutter which Iprefer to use in my machine is an endless flexible band of steel, supported and driven with. a" rapid movement continuously in one direc' These clamps are raised after a strip plane in which the cutting-v tion, like an endless-band saw, by means of carrying wheels mounted in a frame one above the other and to one of which power is applied to run the wheels in the required direction. The cutting means therefore is identical in its general construction with an ordinary endless-band sawing-machine, excepting that an endless blade with a continuous sharp beveled cutting edge is substituted for the endless band with saw-teeth on its edge. The working gear from an ordinary endless-band sawing-machine can be ernployed to advantage by substituting a cuttingband with a continuous beveled cutting edge in place of the saw-band and setting the same in working position with the table and gages. In place of such cutting means being employed, however, the operation of cutting could be performed by a cutting-blade driven with a rapid reciprocating motion. The position occupied by the cutter is represented at Win Figs. l, 2, 4, and 6, with the front edge of the table sitting closely to the line of the blade to properly support the'material being out, and yet With sufficient clearance to prevent rubbing contact ofithe blade. Thus the cutter W works between the front edge of the traveling table on one side and the stationary gage on the other both in the construct-ion represented in Figs. l te 3, inclusive, in which the tableA is inclined, and in the other arrangement shown in Figs. 4 to 6, inclusive,where the table AX is horizontal. In either case the table is moved along with continuous motion, carrying the block of material against the cutter with an even pressure. These two forms of the machine are provided for use together in the manufacture of a piston-rod packing of rectangular shape in cross-section and of desired length from a thick cake or block of material composed of alternate layers of canvas and rubber, and in such manufacture the block of material is first clamped to t-he inclined-table machine and is divided on slanting lines into sheets or strips of uniform thickness, and afterward these strips are clamped in the horizontal-table machine and cut into strips of rectangular shape in cross-section by vertical and parallel lines of cut, so that the resulting strip has the form represented in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

The construction and operation of the work-holding clamps B will be understood from Figs. l, 2, 4, and 5 of the drawings.

The arms B are fast on a rocking shaft B, for which supports are provided in brackets b2 on the back end of the table, so that by turning the shaft or by raising or dropping one arm all the others will be moved accordingly. On the outer end of each arm is a thin blade B3, with a serrated bottom edge, rigidly liked in a slot in the arm in position to bring the blade perpendicular to the top face of the block of material. The teeth or serrations of the thin edge will be pressed into the soft or yielding surface of the block to a sufficient degree to hold the block from moving either longitudinally or transversely on the bed. When combined with the horizontally-set table, the weight of the arms is relied on to press the blades B3 into the material to a suficient degree to hold the block stationary; butin the case of the inclinedtable machine the clamps will be found to require additional pressure to be given to them to hold the block from slipping upon the inclined surface, and for that purpose I fix on the front end of the rocking shaft B a sector-gear B4, and on the same end of the table I arrange an upright screw or worm B5 on the short shaft to mesh with the gear BJ. Bearings b6 b( for this worm-shaft are provided on the bracket b3 on the table, and a hand-wheel B7 is fixed on the end of the shaft for turning it. All the armsB are thus raised at the saine time by turning the hand-wheel in one direction, and the whole set is likewise brought down .upon the block of' material by a contrary movement of the handwheel. Such amount of pressure as the arms B are required to exert against the top face of the block is given through this handwheel and the worm and sector to hold the arms after adjustment in whatever position they may be set. It should be mentioned that while the worm-shaft and sector are not found necessary on the horizontal-table machine and may be dispensed with they can be provided on that table for raising and lowering the arms B, if it is so desired.

The construction of the gage E is the same in the two different arrangements of the work holding and feeding table shown in the drawings. The angle-plates EX are attached to the bench or stationary support X by screwstuds E and slots E2 in the foot of the angleplate to slide forward and backward. The end of the foot is cut on an angle to rest against the inclined face of a wedge-shaped block F, that is fitted to slide on the surface of the bench X', the longitudinal movement of the wedges being made to set the gage toward the plane of the cutting-blade. The length of movement of the wedges determines the thickness of the strip that willbe cut from the block, and the same is produced by a screw-shaft G and a nut G', fast on the top of each gage. A hand-wheel G2 to turn the shaft is provided on the front end. This adjusting mechanism is the same in both forms of the machine,except ing that a wire spring I is applied to the gageboard E for the horizontal-table machine to hold the wedge-shaped ends of the angle-plates against the face of the sliding wedge-block, whereas in the case of the slanting table the weight of the gage-board and its angle-plates will be found to hold the angular ends of the plates in working position against the wedgeblocks without the spring.

On the front end of the bench, in close relation to the cutting-blade W, is secured a IOO IIO

curved guide-plate K, the function of which is to carry the cut strip away from the cutting-blade as the table is fed up to the cutter. This piece K is attached to the bench by bolts KX, setting through slots in the plates, so as to allow for its adjustment. One face of the piece is iiat, and the other, K', meeting it at an acute angle, is struck on a curve of about a quarter-circle, so that when the acute edge of the piece is placed in line with the cut the curved face will guide the strip away from the cutter and turn it to the side. The position of this guide with respect to the cuttingblade and the block clamped on the table is shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 6 of the drawings.

As the traveling table requires to be supported for the entire length of its movement past the cutting-blade the stationary rails a a should extend behind the cutter or on the side opposite to that occupied by the table in the drawings a sufficient distance to support the table. The stationary supports X2 X2 are placed at intervals apart on the bed-timbers X3 to support the rails. l

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a machine for cutting material into strips,

' the combination with a traveling table adapting the rock-shaft to raise and lower the arms. f

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

HENRY DODS. [L. s]

Witnesses:

EDWARD E. OsBoRN, C. VW. M.V SMITH. 

